Also, Marc Trestman won't commit to resting his starters if Sunday's game is meaningless

Published at 5:23 AM CST on Dec 20, 2013

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In our Friday edition of Bears Bites, we take a look at an interesting argument for the Chicago Bears to sign Jay Cutler to a long-term contract and examine whether or not Marc Trestman will rest his starters if Sunday’s game turns out to be meaningless, and what having Lance Briggs back in the lineup means for the Bears going forward.

-We start out with Brad Biggs, who argues that because of the salary cap implications of just using the franchise tag on Jay Cutler that the Bears should instead sign him to a longer-term deal that can be made slightly more cap-friendly. [Chicago Tribune]

-When asked about his early struggles against the Cleveland Browns, Cutler admitted that he was impacted by “the noise.” No, not the noise made by Browns fans, but rather by the noise surrounding his return to the lineup in the media. [ESPN Chicago]

-Marc Trestman left the door open to resting his starters on Sunday, with the possibility that the game could be rendered meaningless hanging over the contest. If the Detroit Lions lose and the Green Bay Packers win, then the Bears would know that they have an NFC North division title game of sorts set up for Week 17, and Sunday’s tilt with the Eagles would have no bearing on that. [CBS Chicago]

-Lance Briggs returning to the practice field “lifts our football team,” according to Trestman. It’s still unclear whether the linebacker will play Sunday, but the team clearly is excited at the possibility. [CSN Chicago]

-If the Bears are going to knock off the Eagles on Sunday, then they are going to need to do one simple thing: keep that dynamic Chip Kelly-led offense off the field as much as possible. [Daily Herald]

-Matt Forte has a target in mind for all-purpose yards this season: 2000 yards. Why that number? Because it means that the offense is doing its job effectively. [Chicago Sun-Times]